Faculty development review: Improving learning in the operating theatre

Undergraduate medical students' time is precious, and with increasingly limited exposure to surgery, learning at every opportunity needs to be facilitated. The operating theatre is a unique classroom and factors related to this environment could impact on learning opportunities. We aim to help surgical faculty overcome these barriers and develop the operating theatre's potential as a learning environment.

Reports in the literature frequently mention the emotional aspects of attending theatre and trying to fit in with the surgical team, and often report negative feelings such as feeling unwelcome. Students also report feeling confused about what they should be hoping to learn from their theatre experience, and what their role is in theatre.

We suggest ways in which surgical faculty can help the student fit into the theatre environment and hope that this will improve undergraduate surgical education and enthusiasm for surgery.